(CNN) – Mitt Romney said congressional Republicans were wrong to accept a deal last year that could ultimately result in across-the-board spending cuts, including massive cuts to the military.

"I thought it was a mistake on the part of the White House to propose it," Romney said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I think it was a mistake for Republicans to go along with it."- Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @PoliticalTicker

Also known as sequestration, the cuts are set to go into effect in January if Congress fails to find a deficit-reduction plan by the end of the year.
In 2011, congressional leaders reached a last-minute deal to raise the debt ceiling. Part of the deal included tasking a so-called super committee with finding a deficit-reduction plan that fall. As an incentive, the debt ceiling bill included the spending cuts measure, to encourage the committee to move quickly or face the self-imposed penalty of sequestration.

The 12-member, bipartisan committee, however, failed to reach a compromise in November 2011, and now Congress has less than four months to agree on a plan that would avoid the automatic cuts.

Paul Ryan, Romney's running mate, was among the Republicans who voted for last year's bill, also known as the Budget Control Act.

At issue is how to pay for reducing the deficit: Democrats want to raise revenues partly by raising taxes, while Republicans prefer to chip away at the debt through other avenues, such as cutting spending and closing some tax loopholes.

Asked Sunday if he would compromise as president and risk a conservative backlash in order to reach a deal, Romney said he would stand by his principles.

"There's nothing wrong with the term compromise, but there is something very wrong with the term abandoning one's principles," he said. "And I'm going to stand by my principles. And those are, I am not going to raise taxes on the American people."

Saying he's "as conservative as the Constitution," Romney later argued he knows "how to work across the aisle."

And while the Republican nominee has repeatedly vowed to work towards a repeal of President Barack Obama's health care reform, Romney said in the interview he favors some measures found in the law.

"Well, I'm not getting rid of all of health care reform. Of course there are a number of things that I like in health care reform that I'm going to put in place," he said.

Romney listed the provision that ensures those with pre-existing conditions can get coverage as one aspect he would include in his own health care plan, which he said would "replace Obamacare." The former Massachusetts governor has taken heat for opposing the federal health care law despite the fact it was largely modeled after the 2006 law he signed in the Bay State.

On a lighter note, Romney said he laughed at Clint Eastwood's appearance at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, where the actor performed an unusual skit, talking to an imaginary Obama in an empty chair on stage.

"I was laughing at Clint Eastwood. Look, to have him get up and speak on my behalf was a great thrill," Romney said.

Some criticized the event as bizarre. Eastwood said in a newspaper interview Friday that Romney's staff had, in fact, not approved his script in advance because he didn't think of it until a few minutes before his time slot.

"There was a stool there, and some fella kept asking me if I wanted to sit down," Eastwood said, according to the Carmel Pine Cone. "When I saw the stool sitting there, it gave me the idea. I'll just put the stool out there and I'll talk to Mr. Obama and ask him why he didn't keep all of the promises he made to everybody."

Romney's campaign argued Eastwood's speech, unlike the other RNC speeches, could not be judged through a political lens.

"You don't expect to have a guy like Clint Eastwood get up and, you know, read some speech off a teleprompter like a politician," Romney said. "You expect him to speak from the heart, and that's exactly what he did."

soundoff(153 Responses)

Romney better watch out, at least half of the Republicans don't like him anyway and by criticizing them, he won't have anybody rooting for him, unless they are as stupid as he is,

September 9, 2012 04:02 pm at 4:02 pm |

MAx Escoria

Mttens Mttens Mittens, Flip Flop Flip Flip Flip Flop, wait for it .......FLOP! once again you show your chartacter, turn on your own, your runing mate THE LYAN KING had his Flip Flops Exposed on MEET THE PRESS what a liar, and now you just FLOP its al you have. One more time, flip flop flip flop flip flop Romney Ryan are bad for Republicans too. At least the Repuplicans in congress and the senate have stayed on the path of destoying our country to take back the power they lost for their running this country into the Ground and Wheres President Cheney & His Chroney George "Mission Accomplished" Bush. I guesss you will probably change your mind and use them to get a couple of more votes from those dead heads that want it to be like the good old boy days agian... Pretty soon all you will have is the Flop as most dead fish find, OBAMA BIDEN and ALL "D" s From now on. BYE BYE MITTENS

September 9, 2012 04:06 pm at 4:06 pm |

Latina

Mr. Obama has been president for four years. His policies have made things worst. He hasn't put together any budget. He had two years with democrats in congress. What exactly is his plan to bring growth? Does he have a different plan? or more of the same. The blame game stops in November 2012!!